US Ties to Saudi Kingdom Are Beheading Democracy

March 3, 2016Paul Gottinger / Reader Supported News

The US faces mounting criticism for its military and financial support of the Saudi monarchy. In the words of Amnesty International, "Saudi Arabia's authorities demonstrated their utter disregard for human rights and life by executing 47 people in a single day." Saudi Arabia has had one of the world's highest execution rates. Many killings follow unfair trails and may be carried out by barbaric means, including beheading, public crucifixion, stoning, and firing squads.

US Ties to Saudi Kingdom Are Beheading Democracy: An Interview With the Son of an Executed Political PrisonerPaul Gottinger / Reader Supported News

(February 26, 2016) -- Saudi Arabia opened 2016 with a tragic, yet increasingly common event for the Kingdom, a mass execution.

In the words of Amnesty International, "Saudi Arabia's authorities demonstrated their utter disregard for human rights and life by executing 47 people in a single day."

According to the British rights organization Reprieve, Saudi Arabia has had one of the world's highest rates of execution for over ten years. Many of these executions occur after unfair trails and may be carried out by the barbaric means of beheading, public crucifixion, stoning, or firing squad.

All 47 individuals executed on January 1 were accused of being terrorists. However, four of those executed were involved in Saudi Arabia's Arab Spring protests. These four remained strictly nonviolent in their calls for greater democracy and rights in the Kingdom.

Despite being a major US ally, Saudi Arabia has an atrocious human rights record. The Kingdom is intolerant of any dissent and harshly represses any critics. The Kingdom has also banned all public gatherings and demonstrations since the Arab Spring erupted in 2011.

One of these four political prisoners executed was the well-known Shia cleric Sheik Nimr al-Nimr. Al-Nimr was a powerful and articulate critic of the Saudi government and royal family.

Amnesty International stated that Sheik al-Nimr's execution showed that Saudi officials were "using the death penalty in the name of counter-terror to settle scores and crush dissidents."

Reader Supported News spoke with Sheik al-Nimr's son, Mohammed al-Nimr, just a few weeks after his father's execution.

Mohammed described his father as someone who believed in the same values as Americans and who wanted all people to have basic things like democracy, freedom, justice, dignity, and human rights.

"He was a peaceful man who demanded change in my country because he wouldn't tolerate any tyranny. He always spoke for the oppressed against the oppressors."

Mohammed said his father guided Saudi Arabia's Arab Spring protesters in the way of nonviolence. "He demanded peaceful change in the form of democratic elections and he also demanded basic human rights."

Despite the Saudi government labeling him a terrorist, Mohammed said, "My father was always a strong supporter for peaceful change. He always asked people to be peaceful and not to fall into violence. I never saw my father with a weapon. He once told a protestor, you are right to demand your rights, but don't engage in even the smallest forms of violence like throwing rocks at riot police."

Mohammed's father was first arrested in 2012. A security vehicle rammed into his car, security personnel dragged him out of the car, then finally opened fire on him, striking him 4 times.

When Sheik al-Nimr woke up in the hospital his upper chin was broken and two teeth were missing. "My father underwent an operation to remove the bullets, but the hospital intentionally left one bullet in his thigh to cause him pain."

Due to his injuries, Sheik al-Nimr suffered an enormous amount of pain, which prevented him from sleeping properly for an entire year. Sheik al-Nimr was also held in solitary confinement for almost four years, the entire time he was imprisoned.

I asked whether the US reached out to help free his father, who believed in democracy, nonviolence, and justice, the very values America claims to stand for. But Mohammed said the US never reached out to him. "They know about the case, but they didn't do enough to stop the execution."

In the days after Sheik Nimr's execution, the White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that the White House had "raised concerns" with the Saudi government that executing Sheik Nimr al-Nimr could heighten sectarian tensions.

Mohammed said this is the US government's way of saying they did their part. "But that's not enough. You don't just warn them. He was a peaceful man. The US should have demanded his release and done all they could to stop the execution from happening."

When asked if he had a message for the American people, Mohammed said, "Your security is in danger. As long as your government supports the Saudi regime, which has a lot of money to support terrorism all over the world, your security is in danger."

"This Saudi regime supported the Taliban, and the result was al Qaeda. Then the Saudi regime supported the rebels in Syria, and the result was ISIS."

"Where does the money for all these terror groups come from? It's the Saudi government's oil money. The Saudi government pretends to fight terrorist ideology, but their ideology is the root of terrorist ideology. For example, 15 of 19 September 11th hijackers were Saudi. Why is that? Because that's what they teach people in school."

"So my message for American citizens is look out for your safety. You don't want more 9/11 attacks, you don't want more Paris attacks. That's what this regime supports, even if the regime shows another face."

When asked what his father would think of the attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran that followed his father's execution, he said, "I believe if my father was here he would not agree to the attack in Tehran. As I said, he was a peaceful man and would never encourage violence."

Mohammed said his father's execution left an enormous impact on him. "My father was really a friend to me. He was a great father and I will have a deep sadness for the rest of my life due to his loss. I know he's in a better place right now, but the painful thing is that I'm never going to see him, or hear his voice with new words about freedom, justice, dignity and humanity."

When asked how he planned to attain justice for his father, Mohammed said, "I will make the whole world hear his voice. Make the whole world know what he stood for and what he demanded and not the picture the Saudi government is trying to paint of my father."

"He was not a violent man. He was just someone who wouldn't tolerate any tyranny and any oppression against anyone. He would stand up for anyone who is oppressed."

Paul Gottinger is a staff reporter at RSN whose work focuses on the Middle East and the arms industry. He can be reached on Twitter @paulgottinger or via email.

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